


Casino and the Lovely Lady

by DixieDale



Category: Clan O'Donnell - Fandom, Garrison's Gorillas
Genre: Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 00:49:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17818667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DixieDale/pseuds/DixieDale
Summary: "If it aint one ruddy thing, it's another with you, Casino!"   Somehow, that exasperated outpouring from Goniff just said it all!





	Casino and the Lovely Lady

Casino, their safecracker, appealed to a lot of different women, the guys cheerfully admitted that. Of course, some admitted it more cheerfully than others, but that was another matter. But each and every one of them agreed it made sense, since a hell of a lot of different women appealed to Casino too. He had what Actor called 'eclectic' tastes, though there was a bit of disdain in that description, and that made sense too, since Actor had what he called, in contrast, 'discerning' tastes. 

Meghada had just laughed when he'd made that comment in his typical nose-in-the-air style. While she didn't usually leap to Casino's defense, her more likely to be teasing him, still, Actor's arrogance sometimes did prompt her into doing so.

"Well, so do those of the Clan, have 'discerning' tastes, Actor, if you go by the dictionary definition. We just differ on what we consider worthy 'gems', and what we consider worthy can often be viewed as 'eclectic'."

Goniff had chimed in, "like separating quality from simple flash, Actor. Depends on w'at you consider 'quality', w'at you consider 'flash', don't it. Now, take that little French countess of yours, Marguerite; dresses fine and all, and I know YOU think she's just the thing, but set 'er down in a kitchen or anyplace other than a fancy drawing room?" He'd shrugged, "well enough, I suppose, but I like a woman with more than one string to 'er, you know? Can't spend ALL your time sitting around making 'igh-toned conversation." Actor rolled his eyes at the notion of Goniff making anything approaching 'high-toned conversation' in the first place.

Meghada grinned at that; well, Goniff DID appreciate a woman who knew her way around a kitchen (and a few other places).

Actor frowned in annoyance. Being lectured by an impudent little Cockney or a slightly barbaric female didn't brighten his day, especially on a subject he felt he knew far more about than they ever could.

"That one I saw you with last trip up to London, Casino; dont seem like she's one a those you'd normally go for," Chief drawled, not looking up from sharpening his knife. 

Yeah, Chief was still a little burned up about that, Casino and him headed off for a couple a beers then a night on the town, and at first whiff of that woman, there he was, all by himself, just seeing the tail end of Casino and the female headed off around the corner.

Of course, that set off another round of arguing about the word 'normally', and how it fit or didn't fit with Casino and his broad interaction in the yin and yang of life. 

Garrison was seated at a small table off to the side, trying to focus on those latest reports he was trying to rewrite to be a little less damning in their content. He wasn't having a hell of a lot of success, and frankly, he wasn't in the mood for trying to fit six days of total confusion and what he suspected were two side jobs, into standard military format. There just wasn't a proper military term for 'seduced the banker's wife into giving us the secret combination to the bank vault', especially when their official mission had nothing to do with a bank vault, much less the banker or his nymphomaniac of a wife. Or when it had taken ALL of them to get that particular job done.

Casino had scolded him later, about using that term for the lovely Gina Marie Bouchet. "She was just enthusiastic, Warden. Nothing wrong in that!"

Well, Garrison had nothing against enthusiasm, but he did feel she was pushing the concept to the limits. First Garrison, as a staid, proper business man dropping off paperwork for her husband, had tried a sly con, but shifted over to the seduction since she seemed so eager for him to do so, succeeding in that, much to her satisfaction, but he'd not been so successful in getting the combination. Ruefully he admitted to himself he was a little out of practice at the seduction routine, but it was still a bit of a embarrassment to admit to the guys he hadn't managed to get her to deliver the goods, in spite of all else she'd been happy to deliver. And it wasn't that she hadn't been well satisfied with what HE'D delivered either, he'd told himself; he'd accounted for himself quite well, he thought. She just hadn't been in the talkative mood, it seems.

Actor had smoothly stepped into her path not an hour later, as the new hotel concierge making sure she was finding the accommodations to her liking, to the same end, same result. Yes, she liked the accommodations; yes, she liked him; yes, she thought a little morning delight was just what she was in the mood for. The combination to the safe? No.

Chief had caught her eye as he delivered her requested newspaper, and had manfully made his own fervent attempt at the gold ring, with a similar outcome, successful enough to please her plenty, just not successful enough for Garrison's purpose.

Then the smirking Goniff, in his guise as a hotel waiter delivering her room service lunch, got his chance.

"Glad enough to get w'atever 'service' I was willing to give 'er, along with her lunch, but no go on the combination. The things I 'ave to do for my country!", he'd bemoaned, but with a gleam in his eye telling Garrison it hadn't been THAT much of a hardship. Well, Gina Marie had been one luscious armful, even Garrison had to admit that.

Finally a gloating Casino had emerged in the late afternoon with a list of numbers. "Here you go, Warden, just like . . . Oh, sorry, that's her phone number at her country estate, THIS is the combination." 

He stopped to blow on his fingernails, polishing them on his lapel, "like I always say, it just takes skill." 

No one interferred when Goniff hit him over the head with a rolled up newspaper, though they did all laugh when the pickpocked snarked, "more like it took all of us wearing 'er out, getting 'er warmed up for you. Luck a the draw, mate, that's w'at it was, you going in last, so don't go flatterin yourself."

No, there was no way any of that was going down in writing! Especially when it turned out their information had been way wrong, that the notebook hadn't been in that vault to begin with! Hell, turned out there had never been a notebook in the first place, that had all been just a rumor intended to mislead anyone looking for that particular information which happened to be on a tiny piece of film in the back of a locket, worn by the energetic Gina Marie. 

If HQ wouldn't have liked the FIRST part of that endeavor, they sure as hell wouldn't have wanted the details of the NEXT part! Once they knew they had to get back in to Gina Marie's suite, get their fingers on that locket they all remembered her wearing, it became a circus. 

Nothing would do but for Casino to take first round, "the ONLY round, whatta ya wanna bet?!", just to prove Goniff had been wrong with that smartass comment. Garrison went along because he didn't give a damn, just as long as they got their hands on that locket and the film.

So, they agreed Casino would go first, and the rest drew lots for what Goniff called 'starting positions'. Actor came second, then Garrison, Goniff and Chief. 

Chief looked a little uncomfortable at that ranking, but Goniff had pulled him aside for a little chat to give some big-brotherly advice.

"You want to trade places, we can, but there's nothing to it, Chiefy. See, most women, they're like one of them combination safes Casino's so good with. Once you know the combination, it's a snap. You can take your time since there's no 'urry, you can spring it anytime you want. Now, Gina Marie . . . ." 

It was a conversation that left Chief more confused about Goniff than usual, including how if he knew Gina Marie's 'combination', why he hadn't used it before. He only got a wicked grin when he asked that question, though, along with a cheerful "no fun in that before, Chiefy, doing Casino out of 'is turn; now, with 'im being so puffed up about it all, it'll do 'im good to get shown up. And now, well, like I said, I'd trade turns, if you want, but think you could use the practice, you know?"

If it had been Casino handing out the advice, maybe even Actor, Chief would have figured it was a prank, but with Goniff, well, he and the little pickpocket understood each other better than the others. With Goniff, he figured he didn't have anything to lose and everything to gain, so he shrugged and settled in to have Goniff tell him the whole thing all over again.

No one else had quite understood the smirk and thumbs up Chief got from Goniff when the younger man returned with that strip of film, or the wide grin and matching thumbs up Chief gave the pickpocket in return. Casino's demands to know what that was all about got wide-eyed innocent looks from both of his teammates.

Even though he couldn't find a way to include any of that in his report, he figured it had been a win/win situation. They got the film and Garrison figured even someone as enthusiastic as Gina Marie had to be wearing a smile for at least a week! He knew his guys had been, and even Garrison found himself in a more pleasant frame of mind than usual.

 

He was a little surprised now that Casino wasn't bragging about that new woman, the one Chief seemed a little put out about. Usually they heard pretty much every detail about his newest conquest's looks and a lot more, though he'd stopped getting TOO graphic when he saw how Garrison, and surprisingly, Chief got visibly annoyed. 

The flushed look on their safecracker's face, now that was a little puzzling, causing his team mates to cast speculative eyes at each other. 

"Just a girl, no one special. Nothing to tell, really," he'd said, then changed the subject quickly.

That wasn't true, of course, but just how to describe Misty, that wasn't easy, and he had a strange reluctance to even try. Well, it was kinda mutual. He'd tried to describe the guys to Misty, and she'd reacted oddly, especially when he'd told her about Chief. Almost afraid, which was just silly, but still, that's what it'd looked like to him, and he gave up the attempt. Hell, wasn't as if they didn't have plenty of other things to occupy their time. She was one hot hell cat in bed, no matter how demure she seemed elsewise.

He frowned to himself, wondering if that was really true or not. Cause, if he was being honest, he didn't remember too much about their nights together. Yeah, nights. He'd met her twice so far, on leave in London, though as far as he knew, Chief and the others didn't know about that first time. They'd meet up, have a drink or two, then head to her flat. He shrugged, {"so I don't remember so much, but she HAD to be something else, the way I felt the next morning! Like a wrung-out washrag! Sheesh!"}

Later, laying in his cot, he tried to picture her, and found he was having a hard time of it, til the details started coming back slowly. Big grey eyes, sure. Soft, all over soft, he remembered that. Little mouth, a little pursed as if she was always prepared to give him a kiss, one of those little pecks, not a full-out welcoming kiss. Hair? Brown? Maybe more of a grey-brown? Not a color he'd ever seen before, he knew that, but it was pretty, all soft and feathery. He remembered her fingers, well, more like her fingernails. Short, but sharp, curved under a little, pointed at the ends, leaving their marks behind the next morning. 

He remembered again how disconcerted she'd been to see him with Chief that second time, how she'd motioned him to her side from the end of the street, not approached the two men. He still couldn't believe he'd done that, just walked away after her, not a word to Chief, no explanation, nothing, even though they'd been planning this night for some time. Even the next day, when they'd met up again, him and Chief, Casino hadn't mentioned anything, just pretended it had never happened. Wasn't that hard; wasn't like the Indian was in any mood to talk anyway.

A mission to Norway, two more to France, and that last one to Italy had them all worn down. He wasn't expecting to see Misty when they got back; all he wanted was food, sleep and a drink, sure wasn't interested in fun and games til he had all that other taken care of. 

But there she was at Hotel Marchant, when they'd billeted there after a job, when there had been no room for them in official quarters, but where they also were due back for another briefing first thing in the morning. Sheesh! Those guys at HQ just didn't have a heart! 

It was a good thing they had Meghada with them; Henri Marchant would have tried to find room for them, but he was gone for a few days, and there was no telling if anyone else there would have been so accommodating. But Meghada? She breezed right in, dragging their sorry asses right along with her, and any argument the desk clerk thought to give about having no available rooms died out when she'd snarled, "the Tearmann Suite, and be quick about it! And whiskey and sandwiches, hot soup if the kitchen has any, for the six of us. And," peering at his name tag, "Toby, don't start with me! If I wanted an argument, I'd have stayed at bloody HQ, now wouldn't I have??" The young man had gulped, nodded frantically, and handed her the key without another word.

They'd eaten, had a slug or two of whiskey, and crashed on whichever flat surface appealed to them. It was well past midnight when Casino got up to use the john, and found himself at the door to the suite. Somehow, he just needed to open that door, pass through the connecting room to get away from his room mates, needed to step out into the hallway, into the next corridor. 

It should have surprised him to find Misty waiting for him, but somehow it didn't; it just seemed right, to find her there, to see her smile and hold out her hand for him to come with her. He closed the door softly behind him, and moved toward her.

"Ei, Casino. W'at do you think you're doing, wandering around the 'alls in your shorts?" came a muttered reproof from a sleepy Goniff, pulling himself out of bed. Chief was on his feet already, moving to the door, opening it to look down the hall.

"Damn!" he muttered. "Wonder how she tracked him down here? Warden's not gonna like this if he takes off again!"

Chief realized Goniff was beside him, with a puzzled look on his face. "Who, Chiefy?"

"Her, the girl he disappeared with before."

Goniff took one more look at the strong back of his teammate, disappearing down the hall. "Chiefy? W'at girl? Only see Casino."

Chief looked down at Goniff with a heavy frown, then looked back at Casino now within just a couple of feet of the girl with the unusual hair.

"Get Meghada, NOW!" Chief whispered, and Goniff turned to dash back inside. 

"Casino!! Get your ass back in here! Warden's gonna shit a brick you go wandering off like this!" Chief hissed, relieved to see the safecracker hesitate, turn back toward the suite, uncertainty open on his face.

"No, come with me, Casino," she whispered, and he turned back to her, feeling the draw of her allure, the sweetness of her smile. Then her face changed, became drawn, angry, as Casino heard the swift footsteps behind him.

A shower of white crystals flew past him, and Misty cried out as if in pain, or perhaps just in frustration, and she was gone, as if she had never been there.

Meghada stood there, wearing a hastily-snatched coverlet and a very serious look on her face, holding a now empty salt shaker. 

"Casino, come back inside. Casino?" The safecracker had been slightly dazed, it would see, from the look in his eyes.

"Meghada? What . . .?" 

"Owl-wife, Mistera, Owisa," she'd replied calmly, as if THAT made any sense. Yet, from the way Chief was nodding, to him it did. 

Goniff looked from one to the other of them, shaking his head. "If it aint one ruddy thing, it's another with you, Casino! Come on, let's get back inside; aint 'ad nearly enough sleep!" he grumbled.

They were back inside, door latched, when Chief asked, "we need to post a guard?"

"No, she'll not make another try tonight, and now I've got her scent, I'd be able to spot her in plenty of time if she did. We'll talk in the morning." 

Neither Goniff or the still bewildered Casino figured that helped explain matters, but they figured she'd explain when she got around to it. From the snoring in the next room, Garrison and Actor hadn't heard a thing, and that was probably good. Garrison would have probably demanded an explanation right then, and they were all just too damned tired to deal with that right now.

The reaction was pretty much what could have been expected. Actor was dismissive of the entire notion of owl-wives, witches, who seduced a man then devoured him, body and soul. Garrison wasn't wanting to think about legends or fantasies or anything of that nature, figured a group nightmare was a pretty good explanation, impatiently wanting to just get to HQ and get the briefing over with. 

Goniff didn't disbelieve, though he'd seen nothing to back up the others' story. 

"Just woke up and saw Casino coming through the connecting door in just 'is ruddy shorts, walk straight through and out our door. Then 'es 'eading down the 'all, Chief talking about some skirt and sending me back for 'Gaida. Seemed to come out of it after she threw that salt, came back in and settled back down for the rest of the night. Course, I don't tinker much with that sort of thing like Chiefy and 'Gaida do," he admitted. "Doubt I'd see as much as they would any'ow." 

That got another roll of the eyes from Actor, of course. And Casino, he remembered Misty having been there, calling to him, but not much else. And no, as he'd firmly explained to Chief, he did NOT believe in owl witches, "or any other kinda witches, for that matter! Sheesh, some of the things you and Meghada can come up with! Don't know how you sleep at night, all that shit running around in your heads!"

Any attempt by the two of them to convince him, to get him to take some simple precautions? Nope, he wasn't having any of it! Oh, he'd accepted the little linen bag on a cord she'd presented him after they got back to Brandonshire, nodded agreeably to her instructions to keep it around his neck, not take it off, but had pulled it off as soon as she had left. 

"Smells funny," was his explanation, steadfastly ignoring the impatient looks he got from both Chief and Goniff. It was Chief who retrieved it from the trash can, tucked it his own pocket. 

"Just may need it," he'd explained to Goniff, who'd nodded vigorously in agreement. Though for awhile it looked like he wouldn't need it after all, and he was more than happy about that.

It had been two months since the incident at Hotel Marchant, and no sign of Misty. Casino was starting to regret that a little; his memories of their times together had gotten increasingly tempting, him waking up at night thinking of her, seeing her pretty grey eyes smiling down at him. Sometimes it felt like if he went looking, even here at the Mansion, here in Brandonshire, he just might run into her. 

Of course, that would only happen if he was alone; he was pretty sure the others would run her off like he faintly remembered them doing that last time. Even now, Chief and Goniff were on him like burrs on a dog, never letting him out of their sight for more than a few minutes at a time. Hell, they were friends, teammates; didn't mean they were joined at the hip or something!

Finally, he got his chance. Garrison and Actor were in London being reamed over that last mission, which they'd gotten done, but not to the high muckety-mucks' satisfaction. He and Chief and Goniff had headed down to the pub, but Goniff had edged away for a mild little canoodling with Meghada off in the corner, and Chief had been pulled into a game of darts. Casino had settled down with a beer to watch, but as the crowd watching got bigger, he moved back and then out the door.

The air smelled perfumed, not sweet so much as musky, but it was enough to put the finishing touches on the erection he'd been on the verge of all evening. Without hesitation he moved toward the copse of trees across the green, not being surprised at all to finding Misty waiting for him. She smiled and held out her hand, and he smiled eagerly, his dark eyes looking into her huge grey ones. Slowly he moved towards her, knowing there was no hurry, knowing he had all the time in the world, all the rest of his life.

Back at the pub, Meghada had come to attention, frowning, looking around. "Where's Casino??!" she'd asked sharply.

Goniff drew back, "dont know, with Chiefy, though, so 'e should be . . ." but then frowned in turn, realizing he was talking to an empty chair. "Ei, 'Gaida," he complained, but got up to follow her, where ever she'd gone.

By then Chief had handed his darts to one of the other men with a curt, "I'm through," ignoring their protests. He met Goniff and Meghada at the door. "He slip out on us?" he demanded.

"Looks like. We'd best hurry!"

Goniff wasn't sure how, but both of his companions seemed to know which direction to take. He fingered the palm knife he carried; didn't know if it would do any good against whatever they were facing, but he felt more comfortable knowing it was there.

 

It was a gothic scene they burst in on as they entered that small copse, Casino kneeling upright, his head arched back, eyes wide with terror, every muscle taut, with a creature leaning over him. Her eyes were grey and huge, the downy feathers covering her body an odd brownish-grey. A pointed, curved beak sat in the middle of her face, and as they watched, aghast, it gaped open, wide, wider, wider til the saw-tooth ridges inside were clearly visible.

"The amulet!" Meghada gasped as she ran forward, hand reaching for her pocket and the twists of salt she now carried most anywhere she went. 

Chief ran to circle around her, Goniff bearing up the front, trying to distract the creature before she tore Casino's throat out. They all reached their target just as Misty hissed in rage and threw herself toward Goniff. Meghada threw the first palm-full of salt at the creature while Chief lunged to drop the amulet on its cord around Casino's neck. The hissing turned to screeches of rage, and it took another palm-full of salt to get her to back away from Goniff, now sprawled on his back, trying desperately to get out of her reach. The owl-wife dashed back to Casino, thinking to take her prey and flee, was now faced with a barrier, one she couldn't get through no matter how hard she tried.

In a total fury she turned to the three who had stopped her, but stopped as the young man, the one she'd known from the beginning was a formidable foe, held out his hand to her, his other hand firmly grasping the redheaded woman's hand, who in turned was clutching at the blond man's firm hand.

"You failed, Owisa. Twice you failed, and you don't get a third chance. By the voice of the Shamans, I declare it so," the young man told her, his voice strong with Power. 

She hissed at him, and the woman repeated, "You failed, Owisa. Twice you failed, and you don't get a third chance. By the voice of the Sweet Mother, I declare it so."

Goniff gulped, but stood firm. "You failed, Owisa. Twice you failed, and you don't get a third chance. By the laws that govern you and yours, I declare it so."

Now a wild screech filled the air, and the Owisa flung herself up into the air and was gone. There was other prey, elsewhere, but she'd take her hunting far away from this place, this place where too much was known about her and her kind. 

The three unclasped their hands, swallowed heavily, and turned to pull a dazed Casino from the ground. 

"Ruddy 'ell, Casino! If it aint one thing with you, it's another! Think maybe you need to swear off women for awhile. Seems you make as bad a choices as Actor does sometimes. Bad enough we gotta go chasing around after the Warden w'en 'e gets one of 'is wild 'airs, don't 'ave the time or energy to go doing the same with you."

The preaching went on and on, all the way back to the Cottage, with Chief dropping in a few pointed words now and again, and Meghada giving him a strong thump on the back of his head for not wearing her amulet "like I bloody well TOLD you! I don't talk just to hear myself, you know, Casino??!!!"

Finally, after a couple of stiff drinks, Casino raised a rather sheepish head. "Thanks, guys. Pretty damned stupid, huh?" If he was expecting an argument, he didn't get one. But he did get another drink splashed into his glass by Chief, a couple of oatmeal cookies pushed in front of him from the stack Goniff had in a napkin, and his hair smoothed by Meghada, followed by a swift kiss on top of his head.

"Pretty damned stupid, Pappy. Maybe Goniff is right; maybe you need to swear off women for awhile if you can't do any better than that."

Well, that got pretty much the indignant reaction you'd expect, and in retaliation, Casino started on Gina Marie and everything that had transpired on that mission. "Gina Marie?" Meghada asked politely, but with a world of amusement in the back of her gold-brown eyes.

"Ei, 'Gaida, see, it was like this. A man's gotta do 'is patriotic duty, you know?"


End file.
